Trapped

Blocked and adrift
Untethered yet trapped
The cages of the past
Reinforce the bars of the present

Gaslight replaces moonlight
And rhyme replaces reason
When there is no aptitude for altitude
Wax releases feathers

Nightmares of a disturbed sleep
“Wait for the officer”
Narrow concrete crawl spaces
Getting stuck, a rising panic

Dystopian safety equipment
As the weather turns
A voice from the dark
A house of rats

Places and props from before, forever frozen in memory
Unexpected intrusions on today
A future unknown and unforeseeable
A black highway at night.